The new charges were dubbed a "poll tax on wheels" by the RAC and William Hague said they were a "declaration of war" against everyone who drove a car. The last Queen's Speech of the century was packed with 28 Bills aimed at tackling crime, the "menace" of drugs, traffic congestion and welfare dependency.

 Mr Blair conceded that some of the law and order measures aimed at reassuring Middle Britain would be opposed by civil liberties lobbies. The decision to cram so many Bills into what is expected to be the last full session before the next general election was seen as an indication that Mr Blair is preparing to go to the country in the spring of 2001.

 In the Commons, election battle lines were drawn in rowdy exchanges between the party leaders. Mr Hague served notice that the Tories would fight a "save the pound" election, accusing Mr Blair of announcing "blatantly unfair" funding rules for a referendum on joining the single European currency.

 Mr Blair made clear he intended to seek a second term on the Government's economic record and by portraying the Tories under Mr Hague as an extremist party committed to introducing "Thatcherism without restraint". The Queen unveiled the packed programme amid traditional pageantry at the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords stripped of all but 92 of its hereditary peers.

 The speech, written by the Government, was highly political, peppered with Labour buzzwords such as "modernisation" and "fairness" and "meeting the challenges of the new Millennium". Last year's Queen's Speech foreshadowed 18 Bills, but the Government found itself running out of time to get them on to the statute book before the session ended last week.

 Government sources said ministers were confident a much larger programme could be driven through. In a party political broadcast last night, Mr Blair said: "We have got a lot done but there is a lot more to do." Downing Street highlighted a long-awaited Transport Bill, with measures to tackle traffic congestion and improve rail safety, as one of five key measures in the coming session.

 Local authorities will be given the power to raise revenue for public transport by introducing "road use charges and workplace parking charges". Charges could also be introduced on trunk roads leading into congested cities. Mr Hague, delivering his most confident and relaxed speech since becoming leader, claimed the new motoring taxes would be a "kick in the teeth" for people who worked and saved hard to own a car.

 He poured scorn on John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, who will pilot the Transport Bill through Parliament, for his failure to live up to the Government's environmental rhetoric. Motorists, he said, did not want to be told not to drive "by a Deputy Prime Minister whose idea of a park and ride scheme is to park one Jaguar and drive away in another".

 The Home Office has the biggest legislative burden with nine Bills - ranging from freedom of information to lowering the age of consent for homosexuals to 16. The Government is going ahead with plans to introduce mandatory drug testing for offenders and the extension of electronic tagging.

 Mr Blair made clear he was braced for criticism from civil liberties groups over the proposal to remove the right to elect jury trial for a range of offences. Downing Street claimed the Government was demonstrating its commitment to welfare reform by overhauling the Child Support Agency, with a new flat-rate payment system for absent parents, and a new framework for future pensions.

 Officials highlighted an Electronic Communications Bill to boost Internet business as evidence that the Government was preparing for a knowledge economy in the new century. A Bill to outlaw the keeping of animals for slaughter to exploit the value of their fur will fulfil Labour's pre-election pledge to ban fur farming. But there was no mention of legislation to ban foxhunting.
 
 

Mr Blair insisted it was a Queen's Speech that "promises modernisation" and carried forward a programme of radical reform to build a Britain of enterprise and fairness for all. Mr Hague mocked the Government for announcing ambitious plans when it had failed to deliver on its earlier promises. He said: "This is supposed to be a programme to take Britain into the new century - but it does nothing for families, savers, schools or the NHS."